


Home

by TomesByBones



Series: Shumako Week 2019 [3]
Category: Persona 5
Genre: Drama, F/M, Family Drama, Fluff, Humor, Implied Sexual Content, Post-Canon, Risque pictures, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-18
Updated: 2019-01-18
Packaged: 2019-10-12 02:40:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17459063
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TomesByBones/pseuds/TomesByBones
Summary: Written for Shumako Week 2019 Day 3Theme: DistanceFinals are coming up fast, it's the end of Ren Amamiya's high school career and he's made a study date with his long-distance girlfriend in order to prepare, but something else is going on with the young man too...





	Home

_“Makoto? Are you there?”_

_“Makoto!”_

“Huh?!” Makoto’s eyes shot open as a loud voice rang through her ears. She jerked her body upright from her desk and cast quick glances around the room. Where was she?! What was going on?!

 _“You fell asleep on the phone again…”_ The voice that came through the earpiece of her wireless headset was soft and comforting. It was the voice of Ren Amamiya; former leader of the Phantom Thieves, her one-time _fake_ boyfriend and now her very real _Lover_.

“Oh Ren, I’m so sorry. I guess I didn’t realize how tired I was.” She picked up the phone and glanced at the time of the call. One hour, thirty-seven minutes. “How long was I asleep?” She whimpered. The last thing she remembered was sitting down at her desk and talking with Ren for a few moments about his day at school.

 _“A while, but… I didn’t want to hang up, you were talking in your sleep again.”_ His voice was a little timid as he admitted he’d been on the phone with her this whole time. She felt her cheeks flush slightly as she tried to look at the digital clock sitting on her desk. The red numbers fuzzy due to sleep in her eyes. She could hear something through the phone, it sound like people talking behind Ren? What was that noise?

“I’m sorry Ren.” Her voice was distorted though as a yawn overtook her while saying his name. She could hear background noise on the phone, but she couldn’t tell what it was, either it was too faint or if she was simply too tired. It sounded like a television or people or something.

 _“It’s okay, it’s cute. I just wanted to tell you that I loved you before I headed out myself.”_ Ren’s voice was soft still, but there was something there. A slight tinge of disappointment maybe? Her boyfriend sounded almost nervous, but that couldn't be right, Ren _rarely_ got nervous about anything..

“Let me make it up to you, we can stay up as late as you want and talk about whatever you’d like.” Makoto was dropping a hint here, she’d been learning about how important it was to do those kinds of things with Ren. There had been so many nights in the beginning where they had spent cuddled up on the couch in the attic where he _could’ve_ made a move on her but didn’t. For as charming and adventurous as the boy was, he was incredibly dense about when to turn things up a notch, and she wasn’t any better at it. Makoto had been just as nervous as he had been though, if not more so. Those nights felt so long ago to her now, and she had definitely grown more comfortable with her attraction towards Ren, probably because he wasn’t physically in arms reach almost ever now. That fact made it both easier, and harder for her.

 _“Ha, while I’d love nothing more than to fall asleep with you on the phone…”_ Ren was tired, she could hear it in his voice as he started to trail off. It was the kind of sound that made her happy and sad all at once, happy because of the memory of their one shared night together. Sad because it had been the only one.

 _“… I do have to study for my finals coming up in a few weeks, remember?”_ Ren’s voice snapped her back to reality from the sweetest of daydreams. She groaned slightly as she realized she had messed up their plans for the evening by falling asleep.

“Oh, that’s right. God, how did I forget? I was supposed to be helping you study for them! Ren I am so so so sorry. I guess I’m just a little overwhelmed.” Makoto’s head fell back to the desk, an audible thud ringing through the phone.

 _“Don’t hurt yourself now.”_ Makoto could picture his black fluffy hair hanging over his eyes as he spoke, that dreamy look in his eyes and his hand guiding her head up off the desk. _“I’m sure I’ll do fine, after all you’ve been tutoring me since before you joined us and I have enough time to cram before the tests begin.”_ He reminded her gently, something about his voice was odd though. Normally Makoto would've questioned the changes in Ren's normal tone but either due to her own exhaustion or some other divine force she decided to just let her mind drift to days that had long past. Those tutoring sessions seemed like a lifetime ago, when in all actuality it hadn’t even been two years since she had stumbled across the young man in the library that was sitting in her spot. Yes, she had a _spot_ in the library, everyone knew it was hers, everyone except Ren that is.

“I really am sorry.” She sighed, exhausted. Ren slightly chuckled at her again. Makoto could hear him shuffling the phone around in between his hands. She had kept telling him that he needed to get a headset like her own, but Ren had claimed that he didn’t like the way the buds felt in is ears, so he had outright refused. She heard more background noise now, someone making an announcement? She couldn’t hear what it was with Ren’s constant maneuvering of his phone.

“ _If you don’t stop apologizing, I’m going to show up on your doorstep.”_ He mocked playfully.

“If that’s all it takes then… Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry!” Makoto teased back, a slight giggle escaping her lips as she smiled, more than anything she wished that he would just pop up at her home and take her in his arms. Hold her, let her fall asleep on his chest again. That would’ve been so perfect. Well, except for the part of explaining why such a devilishly handsome rogue like Ren was in bed with her _sweet innocent_ baby sister to Sae. That part would be far from perfect and would likely end up with Ren being buried somewhere just outside of Shibuya.

Silence resonated back at her from the phone as more background noise came through, for a split second Makoto could hear the noises getting louder, it sounded like a crowd of people, then it suddenly stopped.

“Ren?” Makoto looked down at the phone on her desk, making sure the call was still going. It was, but the silence on the other end was deafening. Suddenly she heard a voice pop back up into the receiver.

 _“Makoto listen I gotta go. I love you.”_ Ren’s voice sounded so serious suddenly, the gruffness of his voice pushing any concerns about the background noise from her mind, it could've just been the television or his laptop playing a video or something after all. This happened sometimes, usually when Ren’s father came home late from drinking. Since going home Ren’s parents had been insanely strict. He was to go to school, then come straight home, no stops between the school and home, under any circumstances. It had grated the young man’s nerves to no end. Ren had thought that would’ve changed when he turned eighteen in late August, but clearly it hadn’t.

That wasn’t all though, when her and the rest of the Phantom Thieves had dropped Ren off at home, she had met Ren’s parents. They were a strange couple, but weren’t most parents? Ren’s mother was clearly where he found most of his features. That shaggy black hair, those dark dreamy eyes. Ren could have probably passed for a male clone of his mother if she had been slightly younger and taller. Even at the ripe age of seventeen Ren had made her seem so tiny, but then again, he did that with a lot of Japanese people with his unusual height. That woman had instantly figured out who Makoto was to Ren, just by watching them for a few minutes in the middle of their little group. They hadn’t even come out and explicitly told their friends they were a couple yet, except for Haru and Futaba that is, when Ren’s mother had asked her how long they’d been dating. She smiled at the memory, it had been embarrassing at the time, but it brought her comfort now.

The shock on Ann’s face as everything slowly started to make sense. Ryuji instantly leaping off the couch and yelling _’I KNEW IT!’_ Yusuke’s proposal to paint the two of them that night, a parting gift for Ren and a constant reminder of her love for him. Makoto had liked that idea but Ren had refused, pulling her to the side later and telling her about Ren’s previous attempts to _inspire_ the young artist. His story about the two of them in the park in the row boats had her sides hurting from laughing so much. She wished she could’ve been there to see that happen in person.

Ren’s mother had immediately taken an interest in everything about the young woman at that point, who her parents were and what they did for a living, that topic had calmed the older woman for a second as she apologized sincerely. A few moments later though and she was back at it again. What were her aspirations, was she able to have children, had they discussed children, oh and how many boyfriends had Makoto had, and finally, in such a whisper that Makoto herself had just barely heard, had her and Ren been _intimate_? Ren had choked on the coffee he had brewed a few minutes ago when he figured out what his mother was asking, resulting in him spitting it across the living room all over Ryuji. Ren’s best friend had jumped up from the little couch where he sat next to Ann and gestured at his coffee stained shirt, letting out an exasperated “ _Dude, c’mon! For Real?!”_ Ren apologized profusely and offered Ryuji a shirt, saying that he’d wash the one he had on and bring it back during his next visit to Tokyo. Ann was just grateful that she had dodged out of the way in time, they didn’t call her Panther for nothing after all!

If the rest of the team had heard that same question and saw the couple’s reactions, then they feigned ignorance beautifully, asking why Ren had spit his drink all over their friend. The pair had been eternally grateful for that at least. Even if both of them were slowly starting to wish this night would come to an end already, or that some heroic brave soul would bludgeon them to death with the largest rock they could find nearby. At least it stopped Ren’s mother’s questioning of Makoto, another point in Ren’s favor for being a reliable distraction.

Ren’s father though, that was where Ren’s personality and height came from one hundred percent. The man was quiet, stoic even. He towered over everyone in the house, including Ren. He was a laborer, nothing fancy and his frame showed it, years of hard work resting on his skin. The only thing that really struck Makoto about the man was his beard, she found herself looking at Ren for the rest of the night, trying to imagine him with facial hair. It was a weird mental image, one that she wasn’t entirely against though. Makoto also remembered how the man had eyed her over quickly as she and the rest of their friends bowed in front of Mr. Amamiya after their introductions. He remained silent though, nodding slowly as he smiled softly at the group of teenagers. After introductions he had spoken to Ren briefly, asking only the most basic of questions about his time in Tokyo. When Ren’s father was satisfied with the information he received, which wasn’t much, he had gone upstairs and hadn’t come back down for the rest of the evening.

Makoto had been silent later when Ren had explained the complicated dynamic between the two of them. Ren’s father had never been what you would’ve called _loving,_ but he was fair. Until the incident with Shido happened of course. After that Ren’s father had become stricter, more demanding of the young man. It all culminated when Ren had gone to court and been placed on probation. Those events spiraled to leading Ren to Tokyo, to the Metaverse, and to her.

His demeanor hadn’t changed all that much since the charges against Ren had been dropped. Ren said that after a night of drinking his father had finally come clean and explained that he felt as if he had failed Ren, that if he had just been harder on the boy that he wouldn’t have ended up in that entire situation. He wasn’t sure how to handle his own guilt over thinking the worst of his son now that he knew the truth. He admitted that he knew it’d be a long road ahead of the two of them, but it was a road he wanted to mend. They were both headstrong and prideful though, which led to constant clashes between the young man and his elder. Many of which had ended up with Makoto on the other end of the line listening to Ren rant and rave in a way he had never done before going home.

She found herself staring at the phone now, awake. Her exhaustion was overwhelming but so was the fear that soon Ren would be calling her again after arguing with his father. Fighting against her own instinct she decided that she really did need to sleep, tomorrow was already going to be a long day as it was because she hadn’t studied for the last couple days, and she knew her own finals were right around the corner. Makoto still found time to regularly lose herself in her academics, that much would never change, probably. However, she had definitely grown during her time as a Phantom Thief, she had friends now, she had a boyfriend that she loved dearly, and these things required time from her. Time she was happy to give, so long as her grades remained stellar.

_Babe, I’m really tired. I’m going to sleep, okay? If you need me call me. Love you. <3_

The heart was a nice touch she thought. Eiko had been trying to _coach_ her to on how to text since Ren had gone home, and the lessons had proved to be most fortuitous, she had even managed to catch Ren off guard sometimes now whenever she used emojis and certain phrases or pet names. It felt good when that happened, as rare as it was. It was almost as if she was finally beginning to be able to convey how she felt to the young man, without leaving herself a heap on the floor, most of the time at least. It only took a few seconds for a _ding_ to ring through her wireless headset, letting her know she had a notification.

_*Ding*_

_Can you hold on a bit longer? Something’s come up and I kind of want to run it by you._

This was odd, Ren rarely _asked_ her for anything. Begrudgingly Makoto looked at the screen of the phone and sighed as she tapped away at the screen with her thumbs.

_Okay, I’ll try._

_But if you take too long and I fall asleep then that’s your fault! ;-P_

She knew it sounded haughty, but at this point sleep was winning her over, and he was impeding her impending reunion with her fluffy bed. It took a little longer for the next notification to finally come in. She was beginning to wonder if he’d actually end up just telling her to go to sleep. Part of her hoped he would, and a part of her wished that he’d just hurry up and call her back, she was already starting to miss his voice.

_*Ding*_

_Send me a pic?_

Makoto’s eyes widened slightly, she had started sending him pictures of herself a while back, something he asked for so he wouldn’t forget how beautiful she was. He may not have been the battle hardened warrior he was in the Metaverse any longer, but damn if he wasn’t still smooth when he wanted to be.  He hadn’t asked for one in a while though, and he had always punctuated the request with a _‘Not like that…’_ That was noticeably absent from this request though, thus the reason her eyes were wide. Was it something _risqué_ that he wanted? Well that wasn’t going to happen. Was it?

Makoto suddenly felt a strange urge she’d never had before, the _want_ to look… Sexy? Was that it? Ann had told her about this feeling before, the young model had said that it was a powerful feeling and that it was partially why she loved modelling so much. Makoto glanced around her room quietly, wondering if she even had anything she could wear that would make her remotely feel that way. She’d never really put stock in those kinds of things before, but now she felt as if that may be a bad thing. She finally decided that Ren would have to settle for another kind of picture, and she moved towards her closet. She grabbed his grey hoodie that he had worn when he was in hiding and threw it on the bed.

“Oh Amamiya-kun the things I do for you…” She grumbled as she pulled her shirt off over her head and tossed it into the white clothes hamper across the room. She then reached behind her back and unclasped her bra, her chest slightly relaxing as her breasts were freed from the contraption. A deep sigh escaped Makoto’s lips as she threw the undergarment onto the back of her desk chair. She didn’t mind wearing it, but damn if it didn’t feel good to get out of it at the end of the day. She instinctively covered her breasts with one hand shyly as she pulled the hoodie off the bed. An idea fluttering across her mind as she held it.

 _‘Well… I could… Send him a pic like this…’_ Her cheeks flared immediately as soon as she thought about it, causing the idea to flea from her mind as quickly as it came. That _definitely_ wasn’t happening. She slid her arms into the hoodie and zipped it up. It was big on her, even now. It came down to her thighs normally, so Makoto didn’t really want to dig around for her pajama bottoms. Even if they did have Buchimaru on them. She slid her leggings and skirt off in one quick motion, and kicked them over towards the clothes basket, missing the opening by a few inches.

 _‘Close enough.’_ She grumbled as she grabbed her phone off the desk and collapsed backwards on the bed. Normally she’d never leave her clothes laying around, but today had been long and she was tired. And of course, her boyfriend wanted a _pic_ of her, there was something more important going on than some laundry on the floor! Makoto was up to the challenge, she had to take a picture that would make Ren swoon to make up for her earlier blunder.

_Okay, sure, but only if you send me one too._

She read it back, and as she read, she could hear Eiko’s voice criticizing her writing for being too _‘beep-boop.’_  With a small pout she erased what she wrote.

_Only for you, send me one too? ;-)_

That sounded better, but was it really her? Of course, she wouldn’t mind if Ren sent her a picture, but she’d never _asked_ for one, what if he mistook her request and sent her a picture of him that wasn’t decent? Oh god, what if he sent her _that_ kind of picture?! She definitely needed to erase that winking emoji, it was far too suggestive and even though Ren would _never_ send her a photo of that under normal circumstances she just wasn’t willing to take that chance.

As the thought crossed her mind, she nearly dropped the phone, but she managed to catch it in the air. When she looked back at the screen a wave of pure horror washed across her face, draining all the color from her cheeks. She had sent the message to her boyfriend. Winking emoji and everything.

“EEP!” she squeaked loudly as her eyes widened in shock and fear, how would he react to this? She could only hope he was classy enough to understand she _didn’t_ want pictures of _that_. Her mind was racing at the time and she found herself questioning if she _did_ want to see that after all. Teenage hormones were so damn confusing at times and they weren’t inherently very lady like _at all_ Makoto found.

_*Ding*_

_Was planning on it anyways, you’re bold tonight though. I’m impressed._

Makoto’s eyes fluttered a little, a slight feeling of pride rising in her chest as her fear from mere seconds ago dissipated instantly, she had impressed Ren. She’d have to buy Eiko something to thank her for the advice now. She then snuggled back on the bed and opened her camera app. Determined now to take a _cute_ picture for her boyfriend.

After several failed selfie attempts, she was getting frustrated, all of them came out wrong. She wasn’t the type of girl to obsess over her physical appearance. Of course, she cared about it, all girls did to some degree, but it was mostly her trying to look professional or proper. She grunted slightly as she pulled herself up into a sitting position. The room was getting warm now in Ren’s hoodie and she slightly unzipped it. Revealing a small bit of skin just above her collarbone. She looked at the screen of her phone, now showing this opening in the jacket and got a slightly devious idea. She laid back again and sort of turned on her side, capturing her face and her upper body in the camera app’s viewfinder. She unzipped the hoodie a little more and let some of her chest show in the picture frame. Not enough to be considered too naughty, but just enough to tease, the slight creases of her breasts showing as she stared at the phone. _‘Only for him.’_ Anat’s voice whispered in the back of her mind.

_*click*_

_*click*_

_*click*_

It took a few attempts until she got it just right, it was just barely enough to be considered risqué, showing mostly her upper chest and collarbone. That would have to be enough for poor Ren for a while, it was already more than Makoto had planned after all. Finally satisfied with the photo she took she attached it to a message to Ren and clicked send before she was able to change her mind. There were still stars in her eyes from the camera flashes when she added on a not so innocent warning for the young man.

_Show anyone and I’ll kill you. <3_

She sent the text immediately after it, she knew full well Ren wouldn’t do that to her, but she felt as if he may enjoy seeing her Queen side a little. He had admitted to her that he found that side of her insanely attractive after all.

_*Ding*_

_Wow._

_*Ding*_

_Not what I was expecting at all. I’m afraid my picture is nowhere near as… tantalizing._

Ren replied immediately. What did he mean _‘not what he was expecting?’_ He had asked for a picture without explaining, had Makoto read the situation wrong? Oh god, no please not that. This was the first time she’d ever done anything like this. She already wasn’t sure how to feel about it, but embarrassed and shameful were at the top of that list right now and if she had totally just sent her boyfriend some candid shot of her in his hoodie that he _hadn’t_ wanted… Well those kinds of thoughts were bit too much to suffer through right now.

_*Ding*_

Ren’s picture came through. He was standing on a balcony, in front of a door. The lighting was less than desirable but Makoto could just barely make out the scene behind Ren. She glanced at the photo and noticed one of Ren’s hands resting on top of a row of white balusters, the road below the balcony was littered with cars. The street lights gave off a soft glow, but the thing that caught her attention the most was that Ren was off center in the photo and behind him she could see tall buildings cutting off the dark horizon.

“What the hell?!” Makoto immediately leapt up off the bed while quickly zipping the hoodie up and stared harder at the phone. The fingers of her free hand fumbling nervously at the zipper, was she imagining things now?

Those buildings, against that horizon, on that breezeway. Makoto recognized it all. She could feel her chest pounding and her heart lunging into her throat. She looked back at Ren again and noticed he was pointing at something with his free hand. The letter and number on the door behind him, all while wearing that same devilish smirk that she had fallen so head over heels in love with.

Makoto immediately dropped the phone and tore open the door to her bedroom. She didn’t care when her bedroom door slammed into the wall with a loud _THUD_ that shook the apartment, she tore through the living room as fast as she could when she heard Sae calling from behind her closed bedroom door faintly.

“Makoto, what are you doing?!” Sae sounded annoyed, but Makoto ignored it and struggled to unlock the deadbolt to her and her sister’s apartment, her hands were shaking at this point. That was when it happened, she heard that noise that meant that everything was about to change.

_*Knock, knock*_

Makoto froze. The picture, the knocking. If she opened this door right now and she didn’t see what she desired most of all in the world it would break her heart. She composed herself for a second and then noticed movement to her right.

“Well, you gonna open that?” Sae was standing there in a T-shirt and a pair of pajama shorts that stopped high up on her thighs. The woman’s arms crossed across her chest and thin smile on her lips as she leaned against the doorway to her bedroom. She looked proud of herself. “But first, go put on some pants. He doesn’t need to----”

As soon as the word _“he”_ was out of Sae’s mouth Makoto forgot everything else, and grabbed the deadbolt firmly in her hand. One quick twist of the wrist and it was unlocked. Makoto twisted the doorknob and yanked the door open with such force that she could feel a breeze come from the swing of the door.

And there he was.

Makoto’s heart exploded into a million little pieces. There _he_ was. Makoto gasped as her eyes widened, her hands shot up to her mouth to stifle the sound of a cry as she let her eyes see him. Truly see him, not through a webcam or through pictures but here, within her reach. Ren Amamiya was standing in the walkway in front of her apartment.

“Hey beautiful.” He smiled as large as he could, nearly dropped the large shoulder bag that he was carrying as his arms opened towards Makoto. The young girl began to shake before she threw herself against the young man and collapsed into his chest. Her hands snaking around his waist and squeezing him tighter than she ever had before.

“Whoa! Easy there, don’t break me!” He joked. His arms quickly finding their place around her as he embraced her tightly. Makoto’s chest heaved violently as happiness overtook her and she began to sob quietly as she looked up at Ren’s face. She wanted to touch his face as she looked upon it, but in that moment, she was too afraid to let him go. Too afraid that he would vanish into thin air right before her eyes if she dared to loosen her grip on him.

“I missed you so much!” She was trying to stifle her cries enough to yell at the boy and failing miserably. Tears flowed freely down her cheeks now as color flooded them and her face was starting to get puffy. She had only seen him once since he had left Tokyo, Ren’s parents had outright refused to let him travel back to Tokyo while he was still in school, they both claimed that he would probably never come back if they had. Ren had reluctantly obeyed. Because he knew in his heart that they were probably right, and high school dropout was one title he really didn’t want. Makoto had finally had enough and went to him during their Christmas break a couple months ago. They only had three days together as her break was ending as his began, but they had immensely enjoyed those nights together in the Amamiya household. Ren’s mother doting on Makoto at her every turn. Ren’s father had also spoken to her that time, asking her some minor questions about her aspirations of becoming a police commissioner. It hadn’t been much, but it felt like a solid victory to the young couple at the time.

Their relationship had been so hard since he had gone home, and at times they had considered splitting up because of the distance, both of them discovering that they were very kinetic people, and that they craved that physical affection. Ren seemingly more so than Makoto, until she had confessed that she just hid it better than he did. All those lonely cold nights, all those times when she had gone to Leblanc to see Boss and knew he wouldn’t be there, the one and only time she had braved the steps towards his old room, all those kisses through their laptops’ webcams that had kept her going, every time the old gang got together without him, they were all so far away now. The only thing that mattered, was that he was here, with her.

Sae had moved off the wall and sat on the armrest of the couch in the living room. Her legs crossed and her arms supporting her. A deep sigh escaped her lips as she watched the two hug each other tightly. Her eyes trained carefully on both of the young man’s hands. One of Ren’s hands cradling Makoto’s waist while the other rubbed the back of her head softly. Sae would’ve never admitted it, but if Makoto had been wearing _something_ to cover her legs then it may have even been a sweet sight to witness. It was then that Sae felt something in her heart begin to connect the dots, something that had been missing from both of their lives for so long.

 _Love_.

Not the kind of love a sister has for another, but this kind. The kind that made you feel so whole and complete that the emotions were too much to control. The kind that caused Makoto Niijima to forget that her sister was _literally_ sitting right behind her while she latched onto a boy in her underwear and said boy’s hoodie. Sae’s face twisted a little as she bit her tongue. Ren hadn’t noticed Makoto’s current attire apparently, if he had then he was playing it incredibly cool.

One look at the young man’s face though and Sae’s reservations slowly began to melt away. He was crying. No sounds escaped his lips, no deep soulful sobs like what Makoto was producing, but tears streamed down the boys face steadily, falling past what Sae could only believe to be the biggest smile the boy’s face had ever shown anyone in the world. He was finally back where he felt he belonged, and as much as it irked Sae that his newfound place was with her baby sister, her heart couldn’t help but melt just the tiniest bit as the two embraced in front of her.

“I missed you too my Queen.” He finally said as he repositioned his hand that had held her head around her back with the other, pulling her in tighter. The sound of Makoto’s voice breaking again and crying out as she held onto Ren echoing throughout the apartment. “I’m home now.” For both Ren Amamiya and Makoto Niijima, this was the night that solidified it all. The hardships they had both faced as Phantom Thieves, the long-distance relationship that came after, and all the trials in between. They had talked about everything sure, but neither had been able to fully move past those days when Ren had first lived in Tokyo. Moving on didn’t feel right without him there, not when they were so far apart.

Silence permeated the room and Sae began to feel sleepy again, her annoyance with the pair of lovebirds growing as they remained in the open doorway to her apartment. She slowly rose and walked over to the pair, putting a hand on each of their shoulders as she shoved them softly out of the open archway. The young couple balked slightly at her unexpected touch and nearly lost their balance. Pulling away from each other slightly but still remaining close to one another. Sae took a deep breath and turned to face the young man and woman as she shut the door, finally.

“Sorry, hate to interrupt but you’re letting the cold air in.” Sae said coldly, their staring eyes making her slightly uncomfortable. She returned their gaze and couldn’t help but curl her lips in a mischievous little grin. “Consider this a very early birthday present Makoto.” She gestured to the young man standing next to her, who was now grinning like a huge dork.

“Wait, what?” Makoto jumped as she let the realization that her sister knew about Ren coming mull through her mind. “You knew he was coming?” Her eyes were wide now and she didn’t even try to hide the confusion in her voice. She had never told Sae that they had started dating, and Sae had never questioned her about her relationship with him, not even after she had flat out refused to leave Ren’s side after his brief imprisonment in the underground interrogation room.

“Of course, _I_ bought his train ticket after all.” Sae smiled slyly. “Did you _really_ think I didn’t know about you two?” She laughed a little at that in her usual haughty tone. “Come on Makoto, you’re the least sneaky individual that I know. Did you really think I wouldn’t put two and two together after lover boy here went home? You looked like someone had kicked your puppy for a month straight!” Sae was poking fun, but her voice was flat and emotionless. Ren glanced over at his lover as he listened carefully, his grin growing wider with every word.

“I—I-I did no such thing!” Makoto bashfully shouted at her sister, trying to keep the façade up in front of Ren. Last thing she needed was the young man’s ego getting any larger. It was too late though; the damage had already been done.

“Aw, you missed me.” He cooed softly, pinching one of her cheeks softly as Makoto’s face shifted colors to about three different shades of red. Seeing her sister so flustered made Sae laugh, not that same cool laugh that she always did, but a real one. She shook her head and then began to slowly rub her forehead.

“Makoto, you are many things, but sneaky is not one of them.” Sae mused playfully, it was the first time Ren had ever seen the ex-prosecutor like this. It was comforting in a sense, and a little unnerving if the fluffy haired youth was to be perfectly honest. Sae had always seemed so callous towards him and everything around her. It was a little bit of a shock to see her look so… Human.

“I’m plenty sneaky!” Makoto shot back, her hands clutching to her chest. “I tailed Ren for almost three whole weeks before he figured it out!” She gestured a hand at the young man, her pride was at stake here and Ren knew the smartest thing was to remain quiet, but the temptation was too great.

“Uh, I knew the _entire_ time, Makoto.” He quipped quickly as the corners of his mouth pulled into a snarky grin, pulling his hands up just below his eyes like he was holding a book over his face, or a manga. Sae cackled loudly at the gesture.

“Did you REALLY try to follow him around with that manga you used to carry everywhere?!” Sae’s voice was loud and raucous now, and it threw Ren off so much that he thought someone might have kidnapped the original elder Niijima sister and replaced her with whoever this woman was in front of him. This was too weird for him!

“S-Shut- Shut up Ren!” She elbowed her boyfriend softly, urging him to not make the situation any worse than it already was. Sae was recovering now, her laughter becoming a light chuckle as she wiped a tear from her eyes.

“You know Amamiya-kun, when Makoto was little, she would follow our father and I around the house with a little book just like that!” It was Sae’s turn to perform the gesture now, and Makoto couldn’t help but feel similarly to how she had felt when she had met Ren’s mother for the first time. Utterly mortified and wanting to crawl into a hole and die alone. “She claimed that she was _‘investigating’_ us to see if we had been up to any suspicious activity!” Sae chuckled again as she watched her sister’s face morph into an embarrassed frown. A pleading whimper escaping the young woman’s lips as she closed her eyes.

“Alright Sis, that’s enough. Please!” The poor girl was pleading with her elder sister now and Sae smiled evilly at her younger sibling. Ren blinked twice quickly, not wanting to miss any of this exchange, this was valuable ammunition after all.

“Oh alright. I won’t embarrass you anymore. But… Just remember, I have so many more stories that I’m just _dying_ to share.” The light reflecting off Sae’s eyes shined brightly for a split second, giving her an otherworldly evil vibe as she softly clapped her hands together slightly off center from her face, eyes closed and a giant white smile shining at Makoto. “But I’ll keep quiet as long as you promise to do one. Simple. Thing.” Sae held up a finger now as she opened her eyes and Makoto gasped quickly, taking the bait completely.

“Name it!” She stepped forward, ready for whatever her sister threw at her. It was around this same time that Ren looked down and saw Makoto’s bare thigh sticking out from under his hoodie, the boy’s face flushed immediately.

“GO PUT ON SOME FUCKING PANTS MAKOTO!” Sae yelled at the young girl, frightening her just a little at how loud her voice had actually been. Sae looked half angry, half amused then as Makoto jumped back quickly and looked down at her bare leg in absolute horror, finally realizing that she had been wearing nothing but Ren’s hoodie throughout this entire little scenario. The poor girl stammered before finally letting out a whimper and then ran into her bedroom quickly. Ren could’ve sworn streaks of red had trailed behind her cheeks with how quickly she moved. The poor young woman closed the door behind her as fast as she could, unable to hold in her embarrassment any longer. As soon as that door shut, an eerie feeling washed over the young man, Ren felt as if he was back in the underground interrogation room suddenly.

Sae stared at Ren Amamiya now, her eyes stern and listless again for a moment. The two said nothing to one another as Ren looked at everything in the apartment _except_ the elder Niijima sister. He knew that glare all too well with how often he saw it from Makoto, the infamous _Niijima Death Glare_ , and Sae’s was infinitely more terrifying to the young man right now. Finally, Sae let out a little chuckle when she saw how skittish the young man was. He had saved the world from some evil god of control or something or other, but he was still scared of his girlfriend’s older sister. As he damn well should be. She let her features soften finally before she finally asked the young man.

“So, when you going to tell her that you’re staying?” Her voice wasn’t quiet, but it wasn’t loud either. A slight curl crossed her lips at the corners.

“Tomorrow morning, thank you for this Niijima-san, I never could’ve pulled this off without your help.” His eyes immediately found Sae’s now and held her in his sight. He bowed slowly for a moment and then rose, not wanting to prostate too much.

“Just don’t hurt her, or they’ll never find your body.” Sae crossed her arms as she huffed. She had already put in some serious work in repairing her and Makoto’s relationship, but this wasn’t about that. Makoto hadn’t looked the same since Ren had left, and Sae had finally figured out that they were more than friends a few months ago after her sister had walked through the apartment practically beaming after getting off the phone with the young man. 

She had started sending Ren texts after that, inquiring as to what his intentions were with her little sister. Ren had nearly had a heart attack the first time she had sent him a message. His first instinct had been to flee the country with Makoto and never come back, Morgana had scratched him when he proposed using the feline as a distraction to assist in his and Makoto’s escape. Sae had eventually began to calm down after hearing the young man’s answers, Sae had felt a little jealous of her sibling upon reading the young man’s responses. If Ren Amamiya was true to his word, then maybe her sister had found herself a good one after all. She still felt Makoto was a little too naïve to be in a relationship, but that was her fault in the first place. Sae felt she had no right to exhibit any control over her younger sister’s life now and she refused to stand in her way of happiness, even if she didn’t inherently like it. She _did_ however enjoy seeing this young man squirm helplessly in front of her, and she planned on taking full advantage of it while she had the opportunity.

“That’ll never happen Niijima-san.” Ren’s features eased softly as he looked towards his girlfriend’s bedroom door, still closed tightly as the younger Niijima tried to recover from her shame on the other side. Ren could just barely hear the faint sound of thuds from the room. He knew Makoto was softly banging her head on something and the thought made him chuckle a little, she was still so cute when she got flustered.

Eventually he’d tell her the truth about Sae’s involvement with him moving back to Tokyo and how she had told Ren that he needed to come back as soon as he could, claiming that she couldn’t stand to see her sister constantly moping around the apartment every single day. She had purchased a train ticket for the young man a week ago during a visit to talk with Ren’s parents and the young man. Ren had explained how overprotective they had become, despite him legally being an adult, and Sae had driven all the way to his hometown to convince Mr. Amamiya and Mrs. Kurusu that Ren was in good hands back in Tokyo. It had taken several hours to accomplish.

The woman had even gone so far as to convince Ren’s high school principal to let him take the exams a month early, stating that the boy was needed in Tokyo immediately to assist her with something related to Shido’s case; his lawyers were trying to exploit a loophole to get him released from prison and Sae couldn’t allow that. The principal had taken her written proposal to the administrative council that governed the school district that same week and immediately gotten approval for the young man to take his finals early. When Ren had questioned her if she would get in trouble for pulling that kind of a stunt the older woman had looked at him coldly. Afterwards she had informed the young man that if he _didn’t_ pass those exams with flying colors that she would never let him near her and Makoto’s apartment for as long as he drew breath, she explained later on that she hadn’t been lying at all, and that Ren would need to testify again in front of a judge once more, albeit this time not as a prisoner, but as a voluntary witness.

Ren had done his damnedest to pass those exams after that, determined to impress Sae Niijima and he had. Even if Sae wouldn’t admit it to the boy’s face.

“You get the couch tonight, trains are shutting down soon. I’ll call Sojiro and let him know you’ll be staying with us tonight.” Sae rose from the armrest of the couch finally, staring at the befuddled young man. “Oh, and If you even _think_ about anything lecherous while I’m in this apartment, I’ll skin you alive Amamiya-kun. Do I make myself clear?” Sae walked past him as she spoke. Stopping as she reached her bedroom door to await his answer.

Ren swallowed hard and nodded bashfully, it was his turn to blush deeply now.

“Yes Niijima-san.” He had already broken that promise when he’d realized the younger sister’s pants situation, but he wasn’t about to tell Sae that. He firmly believed she had at least one location where she could hide a body if she really needed to at this point and he wasn’t ready to test that theory for accuracy. Not tonight at least.

“Good, now then, have fun~!” Sae cooed with a mockingly sing-song voice as she stepped through the doorway to the bedroom and closed the door behind her. Leaving Ren Amamiya standing alone in The Niijima sister’s living room.

“What the hell am I getting myself into?” The young man softly asked himself as he stood there, stunned beyond belief at how utterly entertaining yet terrifying this entire fiasco had been. Eventually Makoto would join him on the couch, but for now he just stood there and blankly stared at the wall, a little too scared to touch anything.

**Author's Note:**

> This prompt turned out much longer than I had wanted. There were multiple points where ending it felt right, but doing so wouldn't have given me a chance to write for a new character that I haven't tried yet, Sae Niijima. The angle I took with her is one that a few others have done already but it was still a fun experiment. Oh and Ren and Makoto are in it too obviously. 
> 
> I'm slowly starting to catch up to everyone else writing for ShuMako week. More prompts incoming, but in the meantime please leave any feedback you have. I'm a novice writer looking to expand his skills so any feedback/suggestions/criticisms are very appreciated. Now then, I'm going to sleep, I'll fix any errors that I find in the prompt tomorrow. G'night!


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